Pet books we like...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

I didn't forget about them!

Since yesterday's post contained mostly Valentine's day related items, I decided to wait until today to talk about what usually happens on Tuesdays. If you came here yesterday to see what the Wednesday Treat that Jeff brings into his office was, no worries as I did make something!

Iced Hermit Bars, another winner from Martha Stewart's cookie magazine, went over quite well today. Rich and dense bars are filled with spicy chunks of crystallized ginger and golden raisins. The dough has many spices in it, including black pepper, that punch up the flavor so much. Using both dark brown sugar and molasses deepens the flavor quite a bit - but if your not a fan of heavy molasses flavor, I would use light brown sugar in the dough. The chewy bars are topped off with a free form drizzle of thick icing and more bits of ginger. If you love the sweet and spicy combo, these bars are for you.

Tonight's dinner was a quick to make soup - Shrimp and Egg Flower Soup. Chicken stock is the base and it is flavored with fresh ginger root, soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetables. The original recipe called for peas, but I replaced them with edamame as we normally do. The shrimp are cut in half lengthwise so when they cook, they curl into a fun spiral shape. I'll have to remember this for future soups as they looked pretty cool! Right before serving, beaten eggs are slowly drizzled in and are almost instantly cooked to create the "flower" effect. Next time, I think I would add a tablespoon or two more cornstarch to thicken it a bit and some chili-garlic sauce to bring some heat to the soup.